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Promise: “Plump ‘em, don’t clump ‘em! VolumeExact’s flexible bristles with microchambers surround each lash, to plump and separate for expressive volume.

Availability: VolumeExact is available nearly everywhere – it’s a drugstore product after all.

Packaging: Cute, sleek, and a deep berry shade. I like it! Compared to bulkier and brighter packages like Lash Blast or Colossal, this mascara seems more sophisticated (if that’s possible for a mascara).

Wand: It has a plastic bristle brush, not too small and certainly not too big .  It tapers at the end making it easy to reach the tiny lashes on the inner corner of the eye.  And although I don’t know what the hell microchambers are, they do a great job of separating each and every lash.

Formula: Love it! It really doesn’t clump, it lengthens, and it volumizes like crazy. It’s one of those mascaras that seems to find lashes you didn’t even know you had! It rivals my other favorite mascara (Almay One Coat Triple Effect), and because this one is less messy and not as thick, I actually reach for it more often for everyday wear.

Price: It’s priced nicely between $6-7.

This mascara is like Lash Blast’s older sister.  It’s awesome, underrated older sister.  If you’re looking for a great drugstore mascara check out this oldie but goodie! 5/5 stars!

Ok seriously, I got this mascara for $2.99.  That’s amazing! What’s really amazing is how great this mascara is…

Promise: “A ‘must have’ everyday beauty essential. Allows for the building of unlimited coats of mascara on the lashes, whilst maintaining perfect lash separation and definition, without clumping or sticking. Get ready for an eye opening experience!”

Availability: Everywhere – drugstore product!

Packaging: Pretty plain. But I think it suits the whole “basic mascara” thing it has going on, so I like it!

Formula: This is a really great defining mascara, and with a few coats you can build a nice amount of volume too.  The formula itself is a little watery, making application quicker than thicker mascaras you really have to work with.  Usually mascaras with a more watery consistency tend to clump after a few coats – but this one doesn’t!

Price: Normally less than $5!!  Craziness!

This is just a really nice product at a great price, I really can’t say it better than Rimmel already has in their claim. For being so great and so cheap, I’m giving Rimmel Extra Super Lash Mascara 5/5 stars!

Promise: “Get fuller, longer, curvier lashes in one coat for 100% pure impact. The patented triple action gel formula instantly builds, extends and sculpts your lashes. Triple Impact Brush wraps mascara evenly around every lash in one smooth application. Gently formulated with aloe and vitamin B5 to help keep lashes conditioned. Extra gentle, non irritating formula.”

Availability: Practically everywhere – drugstore brand!

Packaging: Some people don’t appreciate the packaging, but I really like the white tube with and silver letters, I think it’s very fresh and clean looking.

Formula: I love this mascara!!! Love it!! It really does deliver length, volume, and it holds curl.  Also, it doesn’t leave your lashes completely stiff and crispy like some mascaras; they remain soft to the touch.  There is one but though – the formula itself is a little thick,  so it’s pretty time consuming to comb it through your lashes. However, I added a few drops of water to the tube and it worked wonders.

Wand: This wand is really unique, it’s a normal brush type (not plastic like Lash Blast, for example) but with just two sides – one with short bristles and the other with longer comb-like bristles.  I use the short end to really layer on the product, and the longer end to comb out the lashes and add length.

Price: Like most other drugstore mascaras, this one is under $10, and for a product you should only keep for about 3 months, why spend more?

I love this mascara!! 9.5/10 stars!

Promise: Long, lifted, fluttering lashes with extra volume and 2x more black pigments.

Availability: This mascara is available practically everywhere as Rimmel is a fairly common drugstore brand.

Packaging: Very cute sleek black packaging with gold accents.  I love the girly gold letters and “quilted” looking cap.

Formula: This mascara delivers on all its promises except volume!  I had long, curled, “fluttery” lashes, but absolutely no volume. Also, because of the comb wand, there were no clumps to be seen, but my lashes could have been a little darker.

Wand: Glam’Eyes Lash Flirt has quite a unique wand.  Looking down at it, it has a + shape with four rows of combs on each side.  Two of the rows have shorter bristles for coating the lashes, while the other two have longer ones to separate and extend the lashes.  I like this wand, it’s pretty fun to use.

Price: At around $8 CDN, this product is priced right.

I really like this mascara for everyday wear, or for those who have amazing lashes naturally and are looking for a more defined look.  It really does make make my lashes look fluttery and delicate.  But for only delivering on some of their claims (where’s the volume Rimmel??) Rimmel’s Glam’Eyes Lash Flirt Mascara gets 3.5/5 stars.

So I’m still on a quest to find a mascara as good as Maybelline’s The Colossal.  I’m so close to just buying it again!  But I like trying new things and since the waterproof Lash Blast didn’t work out, I thought I would try Lash Blast Luxe… and there was a 40% off sale at Shopper’s Drug Mart so I got a few other products too!

Also, Wal-Mart had a 40% off Revlon products a few days later…

Clockwise from top left: Cover Girl Lash Blast Luxe Mascara in black platinum, Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in airy fairy, Annabelle Le Gloss Star Lip Shine in superstar, and Cover Girl Eye Enhancers Eyeshadow Trio in shimmering sands.

From left: N.Y.C. Matte Bronzer in sunny, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Polish in red carpet, Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in cherries in the glow, Revlon Matte Lipstick in really red.

Above: Revlon Matte Lipstick in Really Red.

Initial thoughts: I haven’t tried the mascara yet, but I know I’ll love it because it’s just like regular Lash Blast but with bits of shimmer (“black platinum” has silver shimmer).  The eyeshadow trio is really pretty, I just wanted to pick up a nice neutral palette for everyday wear so I think this will work well.  The photo above does nothing for the Annabelle gloss, it is gorgeous! This was a total impulse buy, because I was just so taken with the color. It’s a light champagne shade and it’s very shimmery. Beautiful!!  Lastly, I caved and bought the Rimmel lipstick because it seems everyone loves this “airy fairy” shade. I thought it was going to be a much more neutral shade, but it’s more of a light mauve-y pink.  Very pretty, and I like the slight cinnamon scent too!

I love the matte bronzer; it’s really hard to find a matte bronzer in the drugstore, so this is a really great find.  I use it for contouring.  The nail polish is obviously gorgeous!!  A brilliant rich red color with red sparkles.  Cherries in the Glow is a really pretty berry-bordering on red-shade, I really love Revlon’s Super Lustrous glosses.  Lastly, the matte lipstick is amazing.  It’s incredibly pigmented and the truest red shade of lipstick I’ve ever seen.

All these products are awesome!~

Just some mascaras and a few others things I’ve picked up recently!~

Clockwise from left: Cover Girl Lash Blast Waterproof Mascara in very black, Rimmel Glam Eyes Lash Flirt Mascara in kohl black, N.Y.C. Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder in rose glow, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Polish in blue me away, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Polish in emerald city.

Initial thoughts: Well, I really hate the waterproof Last Blast Mascara, which is why I bought another one so soon after.  The Lash Blast holds curl amazingly well but leaves my lashes so incredibly stiff and dry.  (The regular Last Blast is still lovely though).  The Rimmel mascara is alright, but I’m going to have to use this a little longer before I have a more well-formed opinion. I’ll be doing in-depth reviews on both mascaras really soon.  I love the NYC Color Wheel, it’s the perfect natural-looking cheek color for me!  And the Xtreme Wear nail polishes have always been a favorite of mine, of these new colors I’ve only tried “blue me away”  (amazing color), but I’m sure “emerald city” is gorgeous too.

I had been eyeing Rimmel’s Sexy Curves mascara for quite a while before I picked it up about a month ago.  It’s metallic purple packaging just drew me in and I eventually caved and bought one.  Here’s a breakdown of what I think about this product:

Packaging: Very cute!  I love the bright purple shiny tube and curly white letters.  And the crown logo on the top of the wand is adorable.

Wand: I was somewhat skeptical of this oddly shaped wand.  As you can see in the photo above, it sort of waves in and out forming three stacked bulbs… not your standard wand.  I’m not exactly sure if this encourages any extra volume or curl, but I do find myself holding it vertically when I need to get to hard-to-reach places (like the inner corners), so it’s useful for that.  Overall I do like its unique shape, although the bristles are a little hard and sometimes irritate my lash line.

Formula: This mascara’s formula isn’t very impressive.  From reading Rimmel’s claims, I was expecting a lot of volume and a lot of curl; what I got was a little volume and some short-lived curl.  It’s not really the most dramatic of mascara’s and not what I was hoping for.  I don’t know what else to say…

Price & Availability: This drugstore mascara is reasonably priced at under $10 and very easy to find.

Honestly, I really wanted to like this mascara more than I do.  It’s cute packaging and unique wand are about all this mascara has going for it though.  But it might be worth checking out if you’re looking for a more natural looking mascara.  Rimmel’s Sexy Curves mascara gets 3/5 stars.

Update: After wearing this mascara a few more times, I’ve realized it does hold curl quite well.  Still not an amazing amount of volume, but my lashes do stay curled.  Because of that, Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara gets 4/5 stars!